The Otesha Project

Housing… need I say more?

Housing. These days, it feels like a word steeped in controversy. And yet according to Article 25 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of one’s self including housing.

Housing Co-operatives – there are many out there and many more being created every week. Hundreds of thousands of resources can be found online. 2012 was the International Year of Co-operatives and their site is extremely useful in summarising the principles of co-operatives. We’ve also come across a fantastic summary at CECODHAS Housing Europe which is the European Federation of Public, Cooperative & Social Housing. There are further examples of student co-ops, and co-ops started by a collective group of individuals. For further inspiration of housing alternatives around world, look no further than the winners of the 2013 World Habitat Awards. But the truth of the matter is that there are far too few housing co-operatives in the UK.

Have you found any interesting and inspiring projects out there? Let us know your thoughts below.